Unsolicited Recommendations 8
Yeah yeah it's been a while bla bla bla unexpected delays yada yada "been meaning to get to this," personal anecdotes, placating lies and vague descriptions. Lets get kicking-
Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles-
So a part of me realized that the grand majority of entertainment I talk up here is really, really depressing. So I thought, as a truce between us, Ill offer up one of the funniest movies I know. Blazing Saddles is a 1974 Mel Brooks film that really has it all.
First of all, it's hilarious. Not in the "typing LOL but staying straight faced" way but in the neighbor annoyingly "must straighten my face when it comes back to me in public" kind of way. Not only is this one of Mel Brooks' finest hours, but the writing credits include Alan Uger and Norman Steinberg of Family Ties and fuckmothering Richard Pryor himself. The cast is a tour de force of 70s cinema, boasting Gene Wilder and all kinds of people wikipedia assures me were popular.
Second of all... actually there isn't a second of all. 93 minutes of top tier funny unlike anything else.
P.S, Word to the wise- if you're like "oh Mel Brooks, Gene Wilder, Alan Uger, family movie," I'd caution against. Miss. Stein (Robyn Hilton,) will have you fielding some very awkward questions.
Collin de Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal
Ever wonder where all those classic illustrations of demons in the Ars Goetia come from? No? Well fine, start wondering.
And now wonder no longer, they originate in the work of the 19th century French demonologist Colin de Plancy's seminal Dictionnaire Infernal. The illustrations were done by the one, the only, the person who's name I learned while researching this - Louis Le Breton. His works were either based on or were made in conjunction with one M. Jerrault. The trail ends there as we don't know who M. Jerrault was and if he had any contact with Plancy . Therefore McLovin Jerrault's input is hard to ascertain
Beyond the illustrations for 69/72 of the demons, the book's descriptions give interesting insights into demonology, the occult world, and Plancy's journey from being somewhat secular to fully embracing fire and brimstone Catholicism. One can even read a hint of fear in his later writings, which for a man who commissioned a painting of himself chilling out with Satan is a big transformation.
The Mukden Incident
The Mukden Incident
Truth is just another lie to fabricate
a twist of tongue or a twist of fate?
My, my, the hour grows ever late
My, my, your hour grows over late
Things fall, dice roll as they may
If there's a will, there's a railway
Pretext, subtext in implied subscripted context
It's what I hear - not what you say
It's what I hear - not what you say!
Mukden
Your map of Japan is quite nice
But mine ends in Guangzhou*
The ways to tomorrow are infinite
But your tomorrows are finite and few
It's what I hear - not what you say!
Mukden
*This is a reference to a Bismarck quote that says, in part albeit representatively "Ihre karte ist ja sehr schön, aber meine karte von Afrika liegt in Europa" or "your map of Africa is nice but my map of Africa begins in Europe." The slight reframing is done to make sure it makes sense in context.
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Author's Note-
In my writings, one of the things I try to do is see the world through the mind's eye of someone who did something which, while interesting, is something I either wouldn't want to or couldn't do. The former has many examples - Khronos eating his kids to save himself, Alexander the Great striking down Cleitus to defend a drunken misjudgment of honor, and indeed, today's protagonist. An unnamed figure in the Imperial Japanese military orchestrating an incident in order to force China into the second Sino-Japanese War that would become part of WWII.
Is this glorification? I certainly don't think so, but Ill grant you- in a world where the Bay of Tonkin Incident and the Gliwice Provocation took place, false flags are a hard topic to touch on in a measured way. Especially as the phrase has been co-opted by conspiracy nutcases and used by satirical Pinocchios like Alex Jones in a "guilty until proven innocent" kind of way. That being said, I am of the belief that trying to inhabit that mind-space exploratively can lead to profound insights. If you gaze into the abyss, and the abyss also gazes into you, then perhaps the glimpse will shake you from a fear of its fathoms.
Babalon Vs Spring 2023
I thought, instead of going over a band's discography or doing recommendations, this week we go into albums I'm looking forwards to. Im only doing albums that are confirmed to be released this year because I have trust issues with anything without a release date. It's kind of like the Zodiac thing.
Prophecies Ablaze
Unpure
Black-Thrash
Sweden
It's been more than half of my short existence since Unpure has released an album and, in the Swedish tradition, they seem to have made it worth our while. "Prophecies Ablaze" sounds like a vicious return from one of the unsung legends of Swedish Black-Thrash. Evil and brutal riffs just ooze from this one, provided by a lineup bolstered by members of the indomitable Watain and Degial, and Kolgrim's vocals have not become any less ferocious with the passage of time. The first two promo tracks, "Northern Sea Madness" and "Small Crooked Bones" already show promise and are well worth your time in and of themselves.
Apocalypse
Rotten Sound
Grindcore
Finland
I might catch shit for this, but luckily I don't care - Rotten Sound is probably my favorite Grindcore band of all time. I too love Napalm Death, Nasum, and Repulsion but Rotten Sound is unique in both their immediacy and talent. I'm well aware "talent" in Grindcore sounds like an unsanitary proposition, but the mix of Swedish-Finnish death metal sound with the blistering brutality, to quote Goniloc, "touches you in the touchiest of places." The new opus "Apocalypse," is Rotten Sound's first full length album in 7 years and it sounds worthy of their already storied discography.
Nostalgia
Enforcer
Heavy Metal
Sweden
Remember a few years back when classic heavy was thin on the ground? Sure there were the legendary acts still ripping, but traditional metal was very much on life support (I promised to not make a Mötley Crüe pun) as far as new material for a few years. If you ask me, or read a piece I am writing, this changed with In Solitude and Enforcer. While In Solitude broke my heart and ceased to exist in 2015, Enforcer published their debut "Into The Night" in 2008 and have released some of the greatest records the genre has seen in quite a while.
Anyway, the Aarvika giant Olof and company are back and if the singles are anything to go by, this record is going to see the band continue their reign.
72 Seasons
Metallica
Thrash Metal
USA
You know who Metallica are, you've heard what's coming and you don't need me to tell you about. You might want me to but you don't need me to. However I am too excited to leave them off my list.
Rock Releases
Plagueboys
Grave Pleasures
Post-Punk
Finland
It is no exaggeration to say that after "Motherblood," I did not envy Grave Pleasures' position one bit. They always seem to have the monumental task of topping themselves, but it pays off when your track record is this strong. Grave Pleasures are one of the few acts that have me going " a new album you say dear fellow? Well I know whatever it is, it'll be great."
With good reason too, as "Plagueboys" seems to continue the extremely high standard laid by its forebears. It's desolate, it's emotional, it's extremely well written lyrically and musically, and its one of the few bands you could both dance to and cry to. Maybe even at the same time if you're Billy Eliott enough.
The Old Ways Remain
Blood Ceremony
Occult Rock
Canada
Canada's Blood Ceremony are often seen as The Devil's Blood Lite™️ but this is a very narrow way of looking at it. Beyond the blood and being Occult Rock groups headed by women, they have very little in common with one another. The vibe is different to the point I'm not sure they'd really fit a bill together. I could see TDB playing alongside, say, Candlemass but I see Blood Ceremony being much more at home with acts like Windir or Skyclad.
What I'm trying to say, inarticulately and with foam running from my rabies infested mouth is that the band has a more Folk edge to it. All three of their previous records left me with a taste for more, walking that tightrope of being psychedelic and classic without being derivative and "retro." Their new one has no songs out yet, possibly as a conspiracy to antagonize me, but I have every reason to believe it'll be worth checking out.
Unsolicited Recommendations 7
You might've imagined I've grown tired of cramming my opinions into blog posts but allow me to assure you I haven't. I've been busy with a couple of things both announced and unannounced that will be crammed into your eyeballs and earholes in the next month or two. That and the ever increasing crime rate in New York that means I have to dodge bullets in increasingly innovative ways says I have to treat each one of these as the last. No pressure.
One movie and one book-
Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act of Killing
I think there comes a point in any reasonable person's life where they wonder about the psychology behind an atrocity. What is it that such and such persons felt was sufficient cause to do such horrific things?
One of the closer, and truthfully more harrowing, analyses I've ever seen to try and answer that question is Joshua Oppenheimer's 2014 masterpiece, The Act of Killing. The documentary centers around the Indonesian Massacres of 65'-66' and the life of Anwar Congo. Anwar was a small time gangster in the city of Medan in north-west Indonesia. Small time gangster amounting to the selling of counterfeit movie tickets. Coincidence and circumstance conspired to place him at the head of one of the most ruthless and terrible death squads of that particular conflict.
I'm not going to delve further to not ruin the impact, but a more shocking example of the banality of evil you would be hard pressed to find. Anwar, being a part of the political group to come out on top in that particular conflict, was lauded and lionized for the many, many atrocities he committed, and he accepted that role. That's where the journey starts.
It's not a happy or sanitary story, but much like Hannah Arendt's The Banality of Evil, it answers often unaddressed questions that make you grow as a person.
Umberto Eco - Baudolino
Umberto Eco's Baudolino is a book I've recently fallen in love with which doesn't get nearly the attention it merits. I imagine this is because it has to compete with its older brothers-The Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum. Both of which require patience to get the best results (especially if you're looking to understand the underlying mysteries Eco references.) Baudolino, standing at a hefty 528 unabridged pages, is also not a quick read.
However, it is a book that actually merits that overused word "epic." Why? Because, and I promised myself not to make a dick joke, it does a lot of things with that length. It's both one of the funniest and most profound books I've ever read. It does require you know a little bit more about both semiotics and medieval politics than is reasonable, but with same basing and googling, it is not hard to traverse.
The main character, Baudolino, comes across not as an archetype or someone you're meant to project upon but a flawed and lovable protagonist. Over the course of a journey to find the mythical Prestor John, we see Baudolino evolve and change. However it is never written in a boring clear cut "this is the character arc" kind of way. He's an honest liar, a cowardly brave man and a pacifist who's constantly getting caught in wars. He's funny and profound, jovial and scarred, and one of the best main characters I've had the chance to acquaint myself with. The cast he's surrounded with, both historical and fictional, are equally as charming and convincingly villainous.
So yes it's 528 pages, but you'll leave it both smiling and thinking.